Cant decide between fish-less or fish cycling

[bomber4494]

Hi everyone i'm new to the aquarium game and just got a 10 gallon Top Fin Starter Kit the other night. Yesterday i set up everything, treated the water with Seachem Prime, and got everything running. I've been browsing this site the past couple of days, doing all of my research. The problem is still can't decide whether to do cycle my tank with or without fish. I know that the general consensus for newbies is to just do a fish-less cycle but if i just do some simple water changes everyday wont i fine cycling the tank with fish. TIA

 

[Mrs.h2012]

Hi everyone i'm new to the aquarium game and just got a 10 gallon Top Fin Starter Kit the other night. Yesterday i set up everything, treated the water with Seachem Prime, and got everything running. I've been browsing this site the past couple of days, doing all of my research. The problem is still can't decide whether to do cycle my tank with or without fish. I know that the general consensus for newbies is to just do a fish-less cycle but if i just do some simple water changes everyday wont i fine cycling the tank with fish. TIA

I cycled my 10g with fish, two platys. I will warn you: it will take time and dedication. There were
Days, not all days but some days, I had to do multiple water changes in a day. One thing you will need if you don't already have one, is a
Good test kit, API master liquid test kit is recommended here. If you decide to do a fish in, Test water daily and do a water change anytime ammonia or nitrite is at .25.

 

[Hholly]

You can do a fish-in cycle. Just make sure you have a good test kit so you know when to change the water. Don't add too many fish. If you can, find some "seed " material to put in your filter from an established tank. Good luck!

 

[librarygirl]

It might sound easy but it can get tedious; potentially multiple water changes per day for 4-8 weeks can become tiresome and if you aren't dedicated enough the fish will suffer. It is do-able, if you start with one or two small fish but again it takes some dedication. Really think about the time you have to devote to the tank.

 

[Mrs.h2012]

It might sound easy but it can get tedious; potentially multiple water changes per day for 4-8 weeks can become tiresome and if you aren't dedicated enough the fish will suffer. It is do-able, if you start with one or two small fish but again it takes some dedication. Really think about the time you have to devote to the tank.

Librarygirl is right about a fish in cycle being tedious. I was able to do it because I was at home all the time on maternity leave and had the time to do it. I can honestly say if i would've been working full time I couldn't have done it. My fish in cycle lasted a week or so past two months. Most times I was able to get away with only doing a water change everyday and if I was lucky every other day, BUT there were days things got crazy and I did have to do multiple water changes in a day. One thing that will help is if you can get some filter media from LFS; if you do this be sure the tank it comes out of is healthy and has no dead fish in it.

 

[bomber4494]

Thanks for the help! I think I might be able to get some filter media from a friend and I'm definitely going to pick up a testing kit today

 

[Mrs.h2012]

Thanks for the help! I think I might be able to get some filter media from a friend and I'm definitely going to pick up a testing kit today

I don't know if you have a petsmart near you, but I was in petsmart last night and they had a sale on the API master liquid test kit, normally its 32$ but it's on sale for $25, I think the sale is through the January 3 maybe?

 

[bomber4494]

Does seacham stability help a lot in cycling because I purchased some of that and put in a capful earlier

 

[librarygirl]

Does seacham stability help a lot in cycling because I purchased some of that and put in a capful earlier

Those products are hit and miss. They work sometimes, most times they don't. It's hard to keep bacteria viable in a bottle. You can certainly try it but don't assume it will do much. Also without an ammonia source (either from fish or from you adding ammonia) the product can't work at all anyway as the bacteria need food (ammonia) to start forming.

 

[BBradbury]

I did a Fish-In Cycle

Hi everyone i'm new to the aquarium game and just got a 10 gallon Top Fin Starter Kit the other night. Yesterday i set up everything, treated the water with Seachem Prime, and got everything running. I've been browsing this site the past couple of days, doing all of my research. The problem is still can't decide whether to do cycle my tank with or without fish. I know that the general consensus for newbies is to just do a fish-less cycle but if i just do some simple water changes everyday wont i fine cycling the tank with fish. TIA

Hello bomb...

I did the "fish-in" cycle, because I wanted to get some fish into my new tank right away. If you start with a bit larger tank, say at least 30 gallons, and get some hardy fish like feeder Guppies, Zebra Danios, White Clouds, Platys, they'll easily survive the process and most mistakes in tank management.

Just get some good floating plants like Anacharis and Pennywort into the tank and anything like used media, decorations, gravel or anything else with a surface from an established tank. These will help with the process. I've used Seachem's "Stability" too.

So, get a test kit and monitor the tank water daily. No big deal. When a test reads a trace of either ammonia or nitrite, remove and replace 25 percent of the water. When several tests read "0" for either of these toxins, you can add a few more, small fish and resume testing.

If you do a good job of keeping track of the water chemistry, the tank will cycle in a few weeks. The frequent water changes will be needed anyway, even when the tank cycles. So, the practice will do you good.

B

 

[fishfreak04]

i would do a fish-less cycle because it takes less time and also its less complicated

 

[ms_guy99]

As a newbie I say go fishless. I am doing a fish-in cycle since November and it has been nothing but a headache. I work from home so had easy access to the tank. Was only 38gal and we so far have lost 1 tetra and 2 platties. It sounds very simple, but the actual execution is a different story. And since you have a 10gal it may be a tad more work even though the water change quantities are smaller. Next tank...definitely doing fishless....especially since it is faster, doesn't harm any fish, and less stress.

Just my $0.02.

 

[bomber4494]

Thanks everyone for the responses! I believe I'm going to get some media from a friend and then start stocking with just a guppy. I plan on getting 2 to 3 either male or female guppies and then around 4 cory cats eventually. Also how should the media be transferred?

 

[Hholly]

Keep it wet. Then stuff it in your filter somehow.

 

[bomber4494]

If I plan to get either of the plants that BBradbury mentioned would I have to get a new hood and light since the one it came with only has LED lights?

 

[bomber4494]

Here is my take so far with my little guppy

 

[Hholly]

Very cute!

 

[kwandrsn]

I started my 20 gallon with 4 guppies and 2 albino corys. We started it the beginning of December. It is almost done cycling. Since then we added 2 bristle nosed plecos 2 more guppies one more Cory and 8 ghost shrimp and one platy the platy died. The people here will answer any questions you have. Good luck. One mistake I did was I changed my filter like I was told after a month (that was a no no). Also definitely get the API master kit

 

[kwandrsn]

Also started with live plants. Added plants day 1 and used something called cycle for three days. Day two added first round of fish.

 

[kwandrsn]

I may be wrong but you could probably get away with adding a few more fish